oklahoma that holds tens of thousands of commercials dating back to the 1950's. "washington journal" is next. host: good morning. thanks for joining us for "washington journal." it is monday, february 17. in our program this money, we will look at the president of the united states past and present. the phone lines are open and we want to hear from you about who is your favorite president and why. host: you can also reach out to us online.

host: again, thanks for joining us this president's day. going to get straight to comments from facebook on our topic, who is your favorite president and why? lincoln.tes "abraham he was a common man, not highly educated or from a wealthy family. i believe he was truly saddened when we became involved in the civil war which killed so many of our people. he had a caring heart and wanted what was best for citizens of our country. he was truly a great man." , "t below him, manny writes too surprising choices. james k. polk, set up for your platform and a compass 100% of

it. and chester a arthur, a new york patronage stalwart who worked to eliminate it in his three years in office." first call from new york to a is on our line for republicans. caller: my favorite president is ronald reagan and i feel the country was at its strongest when he was president does 8 years. at its strongest since maybe the 50's. before him and after him the country was in that strong. and no one messed around with us and the economy was good president. -- economy was good and he was a very good president. host: georgia. ed is on our line for republicans. caller: my favorite president was abraham lincoln because he went down south and smashed the democrats and free the slaves. host: that was from lawrenceville, georgia.

of course, we cannot talk about presidents without talking a .ittle bit about 2016 in "the washington times," " catching up to clinton no easy feat." in a 2016 presidential contest that can be summed up as hillary rodham clinton versus everybody else, the races and even close. -- the race isn't even close. pulling data suggest that not only is clinton miles ahead of potential democratic rivals, but she is besting the public and votes by significant margins. in some cases for leaders in the -- and somes." cases her lead is in the double ."gits -- whenmall sleep comes matched up against representative paul ryan. even then she is up by eight

points." joe was on outline for independents. joe, you are on "washington journal." caller: it would have to be fdr because he had the courage and the backbone to do the right thing after republicans put us depression. he had the backbone to do things that this president doesn't. have a good day, ma'am. 2012 presidential candidate mitt romney was on "meet the press" this weekend. [video clip] >> i don't think bill clinton is as relevant as hillary clinton. if hillary were to run for president, and her case people would look at her record as secretary of state and during period of time, did our relations around the world

elevate america and our interests or were they receiving -- receding. her record will be what she is just a pie, not her husband's. >> it's interesting, republicans resurrecting the 1990's and part of the messages "keep the clintons out of the white house again." do you see this as a pair? th hillary clinton wil have plent to discuss abou her own record and don't imagine bill clinton will be a big part of it. the times he was president were by and large positive economic times for the country. on the other hand, he embarrassed the nation, he breached his responsibility as an adult, as a leader in his relationship, and that is very unfortunate. but i don't think that is hillary clinton's to explain. she has her own record and vision for where she would take is country and that something we debated extensively

during the 2016 campaign. host: that was from the "meet the press" interview this weekend with mitt romney. our question this morning, who is your favorite president and why? host: let's go to twitter for a couple of leader comments there. host: next up in randallstown, maryland, derek is on outline for democrats. caller: good morning. i would say abraham lincoln and then fdr and then lyndon baines

johnson. i think the worst president we probably ever had was ronald reagan. ronald reagan did a good job as the cold war, but other than that, he sold out the middle class, the national deficit was $800 billion when he started and when he left it was extremely dollars -- it was $6 trillion. at one point unemployment was 10%. he sold out the middle class and created reaganomics, which was nothing but a ploy to help big business is an rich people make a lot of money. the worst is reagan but i think the best is those 3 i mentioned. host: derek, what did you like about those guys? caller: first of all, abraham lincoln freed the slaves. that was very monumental, and still to this day the south is a pain. but he showed great leadership during a very important time in american history, and then you have linen men's jobs and, --

lyndon baines johnson, who established equal voting rights for all people in this country, which really made the back then they-- were democrats, but made them so upset that they became republicans. i would say those 3. thank you. talking were just about ronald reagan. let's listen him speaking in june of 1987 calling on president gorbachev to tear down the berlin wall. [video clip] >> mr. gorbachev, open these gates. [cheers and applause] ,r. gorbachev -- mr. gorbachev

tear down this wall. [cheers and applause] i understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict this continent, and i pledge to you by country's efforts to help overcome these burdens, to be sure that we in the west must resist soviet expansion. so we must maintain defenses and unassailable strength. yet we seek peace. we strive to reduce arms on both sides. host: i was ronald reagan, 40th president of the united states. shreveport, louisiana, homer is on the line for democrats. caller: yes, i guess my favorite

is barack obama. i think barack obama because everything is no and he is still getting the job done. as far as abraham lincoln, he didn't free the slaves. slavesthe fight with the -- the rich was were getting harvests off of the slaves in the south. that is my common. -- comment. host: take a look at a cnn poll from a couple months ago. it found that john f. kennedy is the most popular president of the last half-century. of survey indicates that 90% all americans approve of how kennedy handled his job as president. no other president of the last half-century comes close.

second place goes to ronald reagan, with a 70% retrospective approve or it, followed by bill clinton with 74%. richard nixon, the only president forced to resign, is at the bottom, with only 41% approving of his track record from 1969 to 1974. that from a survey released late last year. todd is onn -- outline for democrats. caller: how are you doing? host: good morning. i'm doing alright. how are you doing? caller: fine. my favorite would have to be jimmy carter, not just what he did great for the country but what he did great for me. i met jimmy carter, and at the time he was senator carter, and he was at the state fair any calls is over and we were not old enough to vote or anything, and he encouraged us to stay in school, work hard, ok our parents, -- obery our cap --

and we wouldnts be successful. at that time he was governor of georgia. he called his african-american kids over and he started encouraging us. when he became president's there were a lot of things he wanted to do but his own party was against him but he wanted to do great for the country and its history goes on -- and this history goes on, he was an inspiration to many of us. host: a couple more comments from twitter. host: remember, you too can tweet at us.

@cspanwj. who is your favorite president and why? caller: i would have to say harry truman and the lyndon johnson, because of his work with the civil rights laws. but just think about ronald reagan. they must be kidding, these right-wingers. that was the worst president. he illegally sold weapons to the terrorist nation of iran. there was 135 members of his administration which were indicted or forced to resign for thees he openly opposed 1964 civil rights law, the 1965 voting rights act. this was the worst president in history who's been the beneficiary of the greatest revisionist history trick in the history of the united states presidents. he was a terrible president. i cannot believe these people. thank you. on outline for democrats, who was your favorite president and why? to say whoam, i want

was the worst presidents. there are 3 of them, in my opinion. hello? host: go ahead, we are still with you. caller: the worst in my opinion was johnson because he raided the social security fund to fund a war in vietnam that he admitted he cannot win. it was hypocrisy. i'd he was instrumental in kennedy -- i think he was instrumental in kennedy's death. the second was president bush, who had no idea what he was doing and i have no idea how he can go to bed at night with these wounded veterans and all who have been killed. who has no idea what he is supposed to be doing, and he shouldn't be president because he is a kenyan. host: let's take a look at a story that is making headlines and packing this presidency. from "the new york times," "democrats run two men of a gop aims to end."

"they are reveling with an awkward reality -- the presence health-care law comprised almost entirely by democrats, remains a political liability in many states. as a result, party leaders have decided on an aggressive new strategy to address unease with the health care law, urging democratic candidates talk openly about the law tossed problems while offering their own prescriptions to fix it. randy is on outline for democrats. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call, and i will like to thank c-span for this program and thank all the people we don't see behind the scenes for putting it on. my president -- my favorite president would have to be go clinton, because if i didn't have him in my years of working, i would not have a house and my kids in their 20's to live because this economy is never

going to come back from some of the policies of these republicans. you haven't heard an idea out of republicans but to take and that is all they know, is due take. i'm glad we were smart enough to elect mr. clinton because he is the one thing keeping some of us out here a float till we can get through these ridiculous policies that the republicans that just obstruct do. i want to thank you very much for allowing me to speak to you have a great day. host: certainly have a great day here at c-span. let's listen to president bill clinton giving the final state of the union of his first term following the federal government shutdown. [video clip] >> the era of big government is over. but we cannot go back to the

werewhen our citizens left to fend for themselves. [applause] instead, we must go forward as one america, one nation working together to meet the challenges we face together. self-reliance and teamwork are not opposing virtues. we must have both. [applause] i believe our new, smaller government was work in an old-fashioned american way. together with all of our citizens through state and local government, in the workplace, and religious, charitable, and civic associations, our goal people to enable our

make the most of their own lives, with stronger families, greater educational opportunity, economic security, safer streets, cleaner environment, and a safer world. to improve the state of our union, we must ask more of ourselves, we must expect more of each other, we must face our challenges together. president bill clinton delivering a state of the union in january 1996. our next call comes from new jersey. line for democrats but are you able to turn your tv or radio down? we would love to talk to you. caller: hello? host: eddie, you are on "washington journal." if you could turn your tv down we would love to talk to you. caller: hello? host: we will come back to you in a little bit. bronx, new york, where alex is on our line for republicans. caller: good morning, everyone. 3 ort to say that we have

4 presidents -- [indiscernible] people are suffering and they garbagesr food in the and they come and say only slogans. what is being -- what is important here is our people. most of people, citizens, are in redline. host: alex, who is your favorite president? caller: my first president was abraham lincoln, because he find the needs of the people and you try to fix it. after that i couldn't find -- bush andidents obama and clinton made worse

situations than before. host: tony in fayetteville, north carolina on our line for republicans. caller: good morning. host: good one, tony, how are you? caller: pretty good. i am a black republican and my favorite president was ronald reagan. ronald reagan recognize that if you get out of the american people's way, they will do amazing things. more black businesses were created under reagan than any other time in history. more black ceo's were nominated than in any other time in history. the greatest amount of black employment was during ronald reagan's time. even though he has been blacklisted by democrats for years. , theu compare anything greatest economic expansion we have had since world war ii was under ronald reagan. quite likely, black folks did better than just about anybody else. 15% of the employed people even though we were at that time 12% of the population. our incomes doubled under ronald

reagan, ok? if you get out of people's way and recognize the greatness of are veryamerica ins smart. tell them what the boundaries are, tell them what the rules are, and get out of the way. americans will amaze you of what they can do. ronald reagan recognized that. i'm not talking just for myself. this comes from harvard, a rather liberal plateglass, check. a rathers from -- liberal place, the last time i checked. this comes from the census department. get out of people's way and there will may see what they can do, and ronald reagan recognize that and we as black people benefited from that. please be my guest and check that out. host: next, tallahassee, florida, line for independents. caller: good morning. i used to be a democrat. i was a reagan democrat. i am in my 60's.

my favorite president is ronald reagan, not just for the economic recovery, like the gentleman just said. he was putting much on the money. much on the money. he a great since of humor and he never took himself too seriously and he kept peace through strength. i think he is sorely missed and that is why he is my favorite president and i didn't become an independent until recently and that is because the democratic party has vacated me. i don't know who they are anymore. not my daddy's club anymore and not my club anymore and it hasn't been that way for really long time. i thank you very much. host: our next caller is david in jefferson city, missouri. caller: hello? host: good morning, you are on "washington journal." caller: my favorite president is barack obama.

i say that because i was able to quit work and join so many others who dropped out of the workforce, and still i maintain a good lifestyle. i get me some free food stamps, for insurance -- free insurance, i will try to get on disability, because that seems to be pretty easy to do now, debt free housing, demi a free phone, see what else is on the free list and as long as there are workers out there i can maintain my lifestyle. host: let's listen now to president barack obama announcing to the nation that osama bin laden had been killed. [video clip] conductedstates has an operation that killed osama bin laden, the leader of al qaeda, a terrorist was multiple for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. thats nearly 10 years ago a bright september day was darkened by the worst

attack on american people in our history. the images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory. hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless september sky. the 20 hours collapse into the ground. black smoke billowing up from the pentagon. the wreckage of flight 93 in shanksville, pennsylvania, were the actions of hero citizens saved even more heartbreaking destruction that heartbreak and destruction -- heartbreak and disruption. scenes arounde the world -- and easy to the dinner table, children forced to grow up without their mother or neverther, parents would know the feeling of the child's embrace, nearly three thousand citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts. host: our next call comes from seahawk, massachusetts. joe is on our line for

independents. caller: i would have to say that jimmy carter was our best president. he had the opportunity to go to war when they took hostages and he did not and they came back alive. our worst president was ronald reagan. a hebron in hell because he committed treason by dealing with iran -- may he burn in hell because he committed treason by dealing with iran before the election. host: "washington times" -- "obama's executive actions can backfire on democrats and gop takes the white house." of executive use power to ease the rollout of his health-care law could be setting the stage for the republicans to roll back the overhauls most controversial parts if they retake the white house in 2016. the president

next up is lorenzo in summerville, georgia on our line for democrats. are you with us? caller: yes, can you hear me? host: yes, go ahead. caller: my favorite president was fdr. he was able to do the , so younger corps people could get that experience and get involved and get their hands dirty. i guess the infrastructure of the site country -- said country. that would be my topic. morristown, -- alex in morristown, new jersey. caller: h w bush, the 41st. host: what did you like about him? caller: he dealt pretty well with the situation with noriega in enema even though 523 lives were lost.

noriega in panama even though 423 lives were lost. taxpayer, the average the weights are often long and futile. 39% of those who call the irs last year simply hung up before their call was answered, according to a scathing recent report by the iris taxpayer advocate, whose job is to take the taxpayers cited the irs. and it is only going to get worse. limitedur very resources, phone lines will be very busy and there will be frequently extensive wait times,'the iris commissioner said on the agency's official youtube video." brian is on our line for republicans. caller: my favorite president was reagan, because there for

him there was no jobs, and he created a lot of government destruction. my worst president is clinton, who passed free trade with china . that's all i can say. that's all i got to say. -- that's all i got to say. host: gallup has a chart looking at presidential approval ratings , looking at that historically over the last couple of years. our topic this morning is who is your favorite president and why. times" reports kansas, right"in choice left to halt bill on days

-- right joins left to halt bill on gays." allowedthat would've individuals to refuse to provide business services to same-sex couples in kansas because of religious please met a surprising and quick end. last year the legislature passed at kansas preservation of religious freedom act, stemming in part from concerns that employers could be forced to provide contraception under the federal health-care law. the bill in this year's session seemed to go further in exquisitely allowing any individual to raise religious objection in refusing to recognize same-sex couples or provide them with services." that from this morning's "new york times." our topic this morning is who is your favorite president and why on this presidents' day. cspanwj,us on twitter, @

span.ook, facebook.com/c michael is on our line for immigrants. -- line for democrats. caller: my favorite president is john f. kennedy. john f. kennedy is the most inspiring, uplifting president who has ever graced the white house. he exercised the greatest crisis guidingnt successfully this country on the planet through the cuban missile crisis, the most perilous time our country and the planet has ever faced. he signed the greatest civil rights legislation since the sentipation proclamation the bill to congress which was strengthened and signed by lyndon johnson. and finally, introduced medicare at a time when 50% of our seniors were uninsured and 20% were living in poverty, which -- later passed under legend

under lyndon johnson. for me and many americans he as the greatest president of all time. host: a couple of interesting presidential facts. 4anklin roosevelt served presidential terms, the most of any president. grover cleveland served 2 nonconsecutive terms, making in the 22nd and 24th president. 9 presidents never attended college. 18 presidents never served in congress. ronald reagan was the oldest president at the age of 69. john f. kennedy was also the youngest elected president, at the age of 43. start to san antonio, texas -- next, let's go to san antonio, texas. greg is on the line for democrats. greg, are you with us? caller: yes. host: you are on "washington journal." caller: my favorite president was john f. k.

host: tell me what you liked about him. caller: he tried to warn the world about the new ways of life was coming around. can you hear me? host: we can hear you. go ahead. all right, we are going to go ahead and move on to our next caller. houston, texas, on our line for democrats. caller: how are you doing? host: i'm fantastic. how are you doing? caller: wonderful. jimmy carter was my favorite as he was very fair to lack folks. he understood us and he wanted everything to be fair. i hear everybody talking about ronald reagan. ronald reagan had his vice president -- they made money off of the backs of lack people and the drug war that's on the backs of black people in the drug war. washington.all from

bernie is on the line for independents. caller: president clinton is my favorite president and the reason behind that is he governed through a time of prosperity and a psychologically positive time in the country, which i think we really, really need again, and that is why i think mrs. clinton will hopefully bring that to us again in 2016. today" reports that there is lots of fraud but few losses from the 2000 and stimulus package. the financial losses on the 2000 and recovery act have been a fraction -- from the 2000 nine recovery act have been a fraction of what the government expected. 1268tigators have proved cases of fraud in the $840 billion program, resulting in 57

million dollars and recovered funds. even so, the amount of fraud discovered so far is far less than what investigators said they expected in the past the statements package -- when they passed the stimulus package." doug is on the line for democrats. doug, you are on "washington journal." caller: ok. host: who is your favorite president and why? caller: my favorite president is jfk. because, i mean -- host: doug, turned on your tv or radio and we will hear you better. caller -- turned it down your tr radio and we will hear you better. caller: oh, ok. the reason is we were on the brink of nuclear war, if you think about it. -- jfk did-- reagan not blink. he had to look khrushchev in the

eye and say get the missiles out of there. i'm glad that he was the one who is president of the time and not ronald reagan, because i don't think a guy like ronald reagan could've handled that. kayla in next call is west virginia on our line for independents. caller: hello. my favorite president would be clinton. that is because he got us through rough times. the worst would be obama, because he is pretty much put a really big dent in the working people. all right, let's read one of your tweets now. host: next, dayton, ohio. david is on the line for democrats. hi, david, how are you? caller: fine.

how about yourself? not too bad. tell us who your favorite president is. kennedy, with. lyndon johnson behind him. they got stuff done. if it wasn't for that, the african-americans would be as far as they are today. .ost: all right greg is on the line for republicans. caller: yeah, hi. host: hi there. caller: my favorite president is ronald reagan, ronald reagan because he had -- he believed in the people instead of the government. he believed in smaller government. he had biblical principles. he did a lot for the american people. the worst president by far, are

is obama. none, i've never seen anything like this in my lifetime. just watching his -- listening to him, watching his actions come his agenda, he is about as anti-biblical as can be. he saysti-jewish, things and does things to wear he puts himself across as even being anti-american but he is very pro-muslim and pro-islam. host: headline in this morning's "washington post." "our verdict in the city of jacksonville, florida, is again raising the issue of self-defense and race in florida. 47, a software developer, could face 60 years in prison after his conviction saturday on multiple counts of

attempted murder for shooting into a car full of teenagers outside of jacksonville convenience store in 2012. jordan davis, who is 17, was killed." michigan, rosemarie on our line for democrats . caller: good morning. my favorite president was john f. kennedy. a lot of people talk president obama down, but you've got to realize, you've got a have a congress and you've got have a senate that one stupid things through -- that wants to put things through. if you have a congress that is republican and collecting a paycheck and doing nothing, that ought to tell you something. that is all i have to say. thank you. in southt up is otis carolina on our line for democrats. caller: hello? host: you are on "washington journal." who is your favorite president and why? caller: my favorite president is

no clinton and barack obama -- is bill clinton and barack obama. barack obama could be the greatest president in the world because republicans are not working with him. he did everything he said he did. barack obama could be the greatest one if the republicans and the democrats worked with. california, felton on the line for independents. my favorite president was george w. bush, -- the reason why it was reason why was he was so horrible of a president he allowed a black man to become president of the united states and i was able to see that day. thank you very much. host: a couple more of your comments from twitter this morning.

host: joseph in houston, texas, on our line for democrats. who is your favorite president? caller: i would say that my favorite president was john kennedy in that he -- the world would not be what it is today had it not been for john kennedy's decision-making skills. if it hadn't have been for his decision-making skills. host: what kind of decisions of his did you like? caller: the decision when he handled the cuban missile crisis , and he handled the cuban missile crisis -- down turn your radio or tv for me, joseph, so i can hear you a little better. caller: ok.

the worst president, i would say, was ronald reagan. -- you justk that mentioned the incident, when another guy in florida was killed. like the stand your ground law. all this rigmarole comes from somebody like ronald reagan, promoting this kind of hostility , peopleespect for race of different races, came from his kind of leadership, and carries on today. host: let's read a couple more of your comments from facebook this morning. scott writes, "lincoln. leadership under extreme pressure, character, intelligence, self-made." "william henry

harrison. he only served 31 days in 1841. he had the least amount of time to screw things up." gabriel is on the line for democrats. caller: you have a very nice show. host: thank you. caller: i would have to say george washington, because he brewed his own beer and that is why he is the greatest ever. thank you. host: jenny is in lancaster, ohio, on the line for republicans. caller: hello. host: hi there, how are you? caller: pretty good. you know what, i don't really have our favorite president, because i'll tell you what, studied all of them and they all had a little bit of good and the little bit of runn -- rottenness in all of them. host: any particular stand out for you? caller: not really. not really. i mean, they all contributed something.

to say i have a favorite, i can't say that. host: let's go now to facebook and take a couple more of your comments. thomas says, "george w. bush. darkestace of america's hour, he stood tall and united and 911 -- tall and united at 911. nomad or how you want to spend it politically, he handled the most adverse situation of our time and did it with dignity and an iron fist." writes, "clinton and now obama." author tevi troy will talk to us about the presidency and pop culture. later, robert watson will join us for a discussion on the role of the first lady. we will be right back.

night, our conversation with tennessee republican senator bob corker on his early career in business. know, started working like most books when i was 13, doing all kinds of odds and ends should i migrated to be teaming -- i migrated to becoming a construction laborer and rough carpenter and when i graduated college, i was construction superintendent. i had built some regional walls around the country -- regional malls around the country and when i was 25 years old, i went in business. i've started doing a lot of people work, small projects where i could be paid quickly, and the company grew at about buildingr and ended up shopping centers around the country, retail projects in 18

states. it was energizing. it was a great place to be. the energy, when you come into the front door, would almost argue down -- would almost knocked you down. i sold that when i was 37 to a young man who had worked with me for many, many years. and then, of course, have done several things since. i acquired a great deal of real estate and through the years, portfolios and other companies, but anyway, i love being in business. in fact, i've loved everything i've ever done. >> later, democratic senator amy klobuchar of minnesota on being in the senate and a mother of a teenage daughter. right as i am walking into the senate, she is in tears, and she said, "mom, they said we bikini at the pool "dad doesn't

understand the difference." get him on the phone right now! i walked into lindsey graham and ran him over practically, and i'm not doing this balance very well. trying to balance the family and the work, you never do it perfectly, and anyone that says that they do is wrong. interviewsn profile" with senators bob corker and amy klobuchar, tuesday 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span radio, and cspan.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back. we are joined to segment by tevi troy, author of the new book "what jefferson read, ike watched, and obama tweeted - see more at: http://series.c-span.org/journal /#sthash.077oaoda.dpu --author of the book "what jefferson read, ike watched, and obama tweeted." i'm always interested in

this question of what influences presidents. i started to look at the culture and found out that throughout our history, going back to the days of george washington and thomas jefferson, when all you had were the printed word and live entertainment, the culture was still influencing presidents. -- we have flourished ration we have proliferation of all kinds of different media. host: give me an example of some time when it maybe had a policy effect. guest: sure. let's go back to the founding fathers, who were heavily read in the works of the enlightenment and the classics and the ideas they read in the ocke helpedhn l influence jefferson's writing of the declaration of independence. host: what cultural or pop

cultural event had the biggest influence on president's policymaking? guest: well, that is a good question. again, i'm talking about popular culture, not pop culture. of most impactful work popular culture and history was "uncle tom's cabin," which was written at a time when abolitionists were depressed. they thought they lost the battle and slavery would continue indefinitely. cabin" change things and rejuvenated because of the abolitionists. the northern voice you read the book in the 1850's voted for lincoln in the 1860's and die for him in the civil war. lincoln brought harriet beecher stowe, the author of "uncle tom's cabin" into the white house, said she was this little lady who started the big war. host: we would love to have you

join our conversation. host: i want to ask you about the obama presidency and popular culture. walk us through what you are seeing. you mentioned that the president's affinities for certain television shows. we were talking off-line. guest: the president is a huge fan of television. he was a huge fan of television when he was a kid. when he was in hawaii, he would come home and he says in his memoir that he would watch cartoons, sitcom reruns, and primetime television until the time for bed, and at that point he would listen to top 40 music on the radio. a lot of pop culture being ingested when he was growing up. today, as an adult, he did not become a couch potato. readcame president, he

a lot and did a lot of things in between, but he still likes tv and there is an article in "the new york times" today, i was in the green room and i saw he was talking to the chief executive of hbo and he asked the chief executive of hbo for advance companies of the show "true detective" and "house of thrones" so he could watch those over the holiday weekend. host: i think people of all generations are jumping on the bandwagon and watching. what impact does that have on the president's perception, and the amount that uses social media? guest: i argue in the book that hasn't obama -- that president obama was very skilled in his use of pop culture in the 2008 and 2012 campaign. show that he is cool and hip and with it and in the 2012 campaign especially come he would go on soft media shows. he would go on the leno show where the letterman show, oand he went on 6 times.

he would not be talking about heavy policy, he would be talking about pop-culture. he did slow jam the news on the jimmy fallon show to reach out to younger voters. it was a good way to connect with the american people and bring in the coalition he needed to win the election. host: could you talk about the way that the president uses twitter and social media? guest: president obama's twitter feed -- president bush probably never heard of twitter when he was president. president obama has 40 million followers. listen more followers to -- and then listened or followed his state of union address. twitter can reach a lot of people. president obama does not do from his account. a lot of them come from organizing for america.

but when there is a tweet that comes directly from president obama, it has the letters b.o. at the end, so you know that it is a direct president obama tweet, and those that not only a lot of retweets but media attention as well. host: randy is on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. i am a teacher and i taught my students about harry s truman. no tweets, butas when harry s truman decided to carry out the berlin airlift, he basically made it known to the communists in east berlin that america was behind the rest of east germany. he was definitely my favorite president, as well as desegregating the u.s. military, the national school lunch program. so, yeah. guest: i would just say to the presidents, well

before president obama was using tweets, were using the media of the time. the president before harry truman was franklin roosevelt, and he was a skill that the use of radio, and he mastered radio to the extent that obama has mastered twitter today. and not only made him president, but we know about this name is fireside chats -- the famous fireside chats. he was very careful and judicious and only did the 2 or 3 times a year. he wore a special to the to prevent -- a special tooth to prevent a whistle, and he used a special paper that didn't russell when he was speaking on these fireside chats so that people would think he was talking off-the-cuff the cuff instead of reading a prepared script. host: jeanette on the line for independents. caller: hello? host: hey, jeanette, you are on "washington journal." caller: thanks.

i'm curious what the gentleman thinks about the huge thing going on between comcast and time warner in the city -- in d.c., and they will control 50% of all the media -- internet, broadband, television, probably radio, too -- i don't know if they are in that are not. thinkch president do you would have objected to this incident just going "oh, heck yeah." guest: [laughs] interesting question. there is a heavily regulatory element to this and it is not reaganic of the day, but got rid of the rules for financial interest in syndication that are vented tv stations from honing their content, and that had a heavy shift in how tv was on and

operated and distributed. there are constant changes and flex and what the new media are -- flux in what the new media art. you were talking about the cable merger, but that article in "the new york times" today talks about the rivalry between hbo and netflix. netflix was a completely new platform. it did not exist when george bush was president, the idea that this streaming content was a new way to exist. and president obama mentioned the lead character from "house of cards," frank -- host: underwood. guest: it just boggles my mind that he was mentioning a character that was on a medium that did not exist 5 years ago. the platforms are changing so fast that i am not worried about anyone grabbing a jewel of everything because there's something new to emerge. "house of cards"

spoilers for those who have not seen it yet. a couple of tweets. these ok, i think both of tweets, which i appreciate, are getting at this question of when you are president, are you supposed to be this heavy, laden with gravitas person who thinks heavy and big thoughts all the time, or are you someone who can connect with the people? this is a tension that recurs through american history. i talk about the election between john quincy adams, who could translate greek and latin very easily and was well read in the class works, and andrew jackson, who is not a very good speller, not much of a reader,

but very good at -- capturing the popular imagination. these guys had 2 titanic elections in the 1820's. every president needs some john quincy adams to govern effectively, and needs some andrew jackson to get elected. chase --all from chevy next call comes from churches, maryland. mary on our line for independents. caller: my favorite president is fdr. i love what you are talking about right now. it is unique idea. i love the way that he created programs but i don't see this resident as creating -- this president as creating grid he is slick and very good at texting and good at words but it is what behind it. i have the idea that if president roosevelt was here today, he would have programs like he had for the youth where he gave them food and places to

live. i would love to see the youth of this time go and for 6 years work for land, like they did -- they use -- the youth built, wey toiled the soil and if took 6 years out of high school and had our youth to do that same thing, turn their phones off, and work for land for this country and bring back our topsoil so that we can have decent food and nutrients, and then give them free college and get rid of the college loan fiasco, that is what fdr would be doing today. he would be creating programs because we are in an economic downturn. guest: couple points on that. first of all, i like that you -- i'm glad that you like appointment fdr. -- like the points on fdr could if you like that, you will love the book. he was very good at maintaining

this idea of being an elevated leader but at the same time reaching out and touching the common people. was talking about his speeches on the radio, his fireside chats. he was very careful when he went through those speeches to take out all the five dollar and $10 words so that he would not be speaking about the people, but to the people. at one point the queen of england came to washington and he made sure that the meals they had in the white house was hot dogs to show the common touch that even the queen of england he would serve that to. in terms of the volunteerism you are talking about, i would love to see more volunteerism taking place in the u.s. when i worked in the bush administration there was an initiative to remote more voluntary active effort to promote a voluntary activity and i think would be a great thing. right now it does not look like a lot of new programs are coming out of commerce and i don't not -- i'm not sure it needs to be a government program. host: michael is on the line for

caller: i went to my favorite president is kennedy. one difference between this president and the president -- this is the federal system. they are the same. they need to make it better. for the american people. this system should change. -- thank you. guest: president kennedy was quite really and that using pop culture. father, joseph kennedy, was a studio executive in hollywood. jfkarly as 1952, he told about how important tv was and how he needed to appear in tv. in the 1960 debate between nixon and kennedy, nixon was confident going in. people who listened over the radio that he did well.

those who watched on this new medium of television thought that kennedy was the winner. he was handsome and slick. he mopped the floor with nixon from that perspective. kennedy was in his own way groundbreaking. host: let's talk about netflix. you are involved with the romney campaign. is this newn documentary -- have you had a chance to watch? do you think he would have fared better if he had what we saw in that documentary more than what we saw in the election? guest: i have not seen the documentary yet, though i do plan to. the way that he was depicted was kind of aloof and wealthy. he did not have that common touch. a little bit would to go to romney himself. his use of pop culture or the importance of pop culture. when he made pop-culture

references, he made references to "seinfeld" and "ferris bueller's day off." both very funny, but he was not as up-to-date as obama was. host: next, gordon on the line for republicans. caller: hi. i think ronald reagan was the best president we ever had. i think that barack obama is the worst president. he hasple reason is that given everything away to the poor. he is taking from the working class and the well-to-do. to breakacare is going this country. thank you. guest: not really a pop-culture question, but let me talk about ronald reagan and his use of pop culture. reagan was an actor, obviously. for that reason, quite skilled in the use of pop culture. ande is one story where he nancy were arguing about filming a spot. nancy was telling him what to do.

he said no nancy, i have done this before. he knew what he was doing. his people said he always hit his mark. when it came to movies, he was not that excited or interested. he told the white house projectionist that the golden oldies were the one for him. he liked those from the 30's, 40's, and 50's. he likes the other stuff. host: next call is from anchorage, alaska. frank is on the line for independence. i would like to say that george washington is the best president. he was the president of only two terms. he resisted the urge to take more power. he probably could have had himself installed as king. he did not. most presidents, including our current one, could not have resisted that urge. thank you. host: -- guest: that is a really good point.

george washington understood the concept of leadership. i have a book of the theatricality of leadership. he understood that it was important to appear almost regal on the white horse, resplendent in his military uniform. he had this bearing that just showed that he was a powerful leader. he also knew that he did not want to be king. he did not think our system should have a king. he set a precedent that every president has followed. he also knew how to reach out to the commoners and the people when need be. there was a rebellion or a mutiny within the troops at the time in 1783. washington got up to address them. on and askedasses for forgiveness because he had done a disservice to his country. he reached out to the troops and show that he had made sacrifices and diffused the muni.

let me ask you this. using popular culture to their ventures, which president is the best and which ?s the worst guest: i really have a lot of admiration for bill clinton. he was able to manage both sides in terms of appealing to the common man. he also was wonky and read a lot of serious books that were nonfiction. he was smart about how he highlighted the books that he was reading. he also like to read mysteries. he was not highlighting that. he highlighted the nonfiction books. i thought he did a good job. reagan was very good. kennedy was quite skillful. i think that those were pretty good. i think kennedy had a little bit of mistakes. in an international

cellist. the intellectuals came to watch this dinner and kennedy did not know much about classical music. fromd handwritten notes the social secretary telling him when it was appropriate to clap. avertheless, he got presentation of someone who understood the arts. he really did not. worst, richard nixon certainly had problems. in" to on "laugh humanize himself. his catchphrase was talking to me. he could not even get the phrase right. beach. a suit on the he did not look very beach-y. jimmy carter also had issues. saw 480 movies in one term in the white house. that is 120 a year. he watched a lot of movies. there was a sense that he

watched a lot while the country was having severe difficulties. -- thet famous speech malaise speech. it came from a book that had been on the bestseller list. the speech came from a book. it did not translate well. frederick,in maryland is on the line for democrats. caller: good morning mr. troy. i am excited to buy this book. i am picking it up. i appreciate it. i appreciate you covering our presidents on presidents' day. i would like to learn more if you have upcoming talks or you will do anything -- guest: i will actually be in leesburg tomorrow night. i will be talking about the book tomorrow at 6:00. come out and see me. host: in portsmouth, rhode island, jerry is on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. a comment ono make

pop culture and the president clinton. he played his saxophone. he connected with the public. i also like president obama. when he cuts a rug, he is a good dancer. i think i might be a little better. he did a good job. that is my comment. guest: clinton and the saxophone is iconic. what he did was go on the arsenio hall show. obama is the first president to go on a late night comedy talk show as president. nixon did his perfect or months before he was president. , putsn goes on the show on sunglasses and plays the saxophone. then he sat down and talked. that was even more groundbreaking. some would say more surprising. people forget that aspect of it. in terms of obama dancing, i have a whole chapter about music and how rock music and popular music was seen as subversive for

a long time. you would not have resident embrace it. you think about the famous moment in the 1950's, on the ed sullivan show. you could not show gyrating hips. you have to show him from the chest. there is something worrisome about popular music, especially rock is it. clinton helped to bring it into the mainstream. embraced fleetwood mac, that was a crucial moment for rock music and the presidency. you mentioned president obama dancing. there was a moment when president and mrs. ford danced. there was a lot of talking in the press about that. now it seems like we are be on that. to alexandria, virginia. michael is on the line for democrats. caller: thank you for giving me the opportunity. the influence of tv is showing

in our streets every day. the role model is established by tv. you scan and dial shows -- shooting, shooting, shooting. it is incredible that we do not connect this with the actual murders of innocent people. also, ronald reagan was the one who promoted the export of jobs payment to $160,000 any company that wanted to go to a symposium on how to export jobs. when they did export jobs, they got $250,000. it disputes with the previous caller said about reagan. thank you. guest: let's talk about the issue of tv violence. it is a really good question. culture iss that pop not all positive. there are aspects that are

worrisome. presidents have to be wary. in the 1992 campaign, there was a song that was an early rap song. george h.w. bush was very critical of that song. he was critical of that approach and his campaign. the attack line from the republicans is one of the reasons that bill clinton engaged in what was known as the sister soul moment. ulja andd out sister so she talked about having a week where we kill white people. this should be president called her out in front of jesse jackson. jesse jackson was annoyed that clinton had done them. that moment has become a famous moment. a moment where you take on elements of your party and show you can be independent. that was developed as a result of this issue and pop culture. the president embraces tv

shows, they have to be aware of the message they're sending. president obama loves "mcgwire." he said his favorite character was omar. he is a fascinating character. he is also a multiple murderer. he is a violent character. he has said i do not embrace everything he has done. you have to be wary when you're talking about pop culture that there are certain shows with problematic messages. you could be called on the carpet for embracing shows. host: your book goes into detail about relationships with popular culture. give us one of your favorite lesser-known antidotes? ulysses s. grant was asked about music. he said i only know two songs. one is yankee doodle and the other is not. he apparently was not a huge fan of music. another is about woodrow wilson. , one otheresident

person ran with a phd -- he is the only phd president. a huge fan of theater. about 250 performances while he was president. bonneville was his favorite genre. not excepted from a phd president. host: our guest is ted troy. number is 202-585-388 1. 585-3880., 202- he said he worked in the white house under the bush administration. talk to me about how president bush has used popular culture. guest: they were very different. george h w and was not a people person. he did not seem to be a huge fan of tv. he watched some movies and there was a book about how he wanted a

new movie to come to the white house. he was not a huge reader. to kennebunkport on vacation and while he was there, he said that he plans to do a lot of golf and tennis and boating. a lot of horseshoes. a little bit of reading. i throw that out for the intellectuals out there. not a huge reader. in contrast, george w. bush is a huge reader. when year, he read over 90 books. because he kept track and had a contest with karl rove to see who could read more. nevertheless, he suffered from an image of someone who was not a reader. one reporter said that he is a graduate of harvard and yale and never open any books. it is not true. journalistic malpractice if you ask me. he was a big reader and not a

big fan of tv. he said there is an off button for a reason. he did watch some sports. you would not have him be able to talk easily about network tv shows. his colts roll mode of choice was reading. host: andy in maryland is on the line for independents. caller: i would like to mention, i did not get in on favorite presidents. the pastte from islington. now it is obama. one of the things people do not see is that our new president has not only been able to connect with people, but he has also made it easier for kids to at the samenerds time. our culture has dumbed down our kids with songs. here comes a president who dresses well and speaks well and can still connect with kids.

be kids know, if you want to smart, you can also be cool. thank you. guest: that is an important message. i think president obama may watch a little too much tv for that. should not that kids watch dumb reality shows. i think that is a good message. i mentioned the point about president bush saying to turn it off. they should highlight the importance of reading. host: casper, wyoming is on the line for republicans. caller: good morning. troy, i would just like to ask a question. do you think it is easier for a president with today's media or is it making his job more difficult? guest: great question. it is a two-sided answer.

it is easier to get your message out there. no doubt about it. president obama has 40 million twitter followers. there are so many ways to convey his ideas. people can find him. at the same time, if there is problem or something goes wrong, or if there is a scandal -- we can talk about monica lewinsky, you cannot get away from it. it is pervasive. during that scandal, president clinton and mrs. clinton and terry mcauliffe, who is now the governor of virginia, wanted to get away. he went on medication together. they were trying to watch tv. hillary was clicking through the channels. every channel had something about the scandal. she was getting more frustrated. she ended up going to espn. they were not talking about the scandal. host: our next call is entrée. he is in new jersey. on the line for democrats.

caller: yes. host: go ahead. i particularly like president clinton and president barack obama. the way they used pop-culture. they related to people. they did not speak about people's heads. used -- they came across as genuine. that youtellectuals cannot reach. like the way they really did to the common folk. the common people. raises an caller interesting point about bill clinton and obama as authentic and nonintellectual. ,linton went to foreign service

obama went to columbia and then went to harvard law school. reagan hast since gone -- every president has gone to harvard or yale or both. one went to both, surprisingly george w. bush. every president has a graduate degree. we have an increasing a meritocracy in terms of our president. at the same time, you have to be able to relate to the people. i thought clinton was particularly skillful at that. he found ways to show that he related to people. his origins certainly helped. at the same time, we should not forget that he was a smart guy. host: you mentioned sports. can you talk about the relationship between residents and sports and have a use them to their advantage? guest: sports as one of the few common connectors that we have. the super bowl is a couple of weeks ago.

it was watched by more americans than any show in history. 110 million americans. i mentioned that president obama's state of the union was watched by 30 million. on o'reilly and probably got more viewers. viewersted and got more than he gets ordinarily. sports is a common connector. you have presidents bringing sports teams to the white house to highlight their championships. as a way to connect to anmunities and show understanding of what is going on in the culture. i do not talk that much about sports because there is not much intellectual content in sports. it is not scripted entertainment. i am talking about what messages entertainers are creating, whether on tv or in books or movies. i think the message aspect that

sports does not add to these things. i think it is important. i talk about babe ruth, because he was one of the biggest stars. one of the biggest stars in america. he was aned that national correspondent with every president from woodrow wilson, to harry truman. he also famously took a picture with george h w when he was captain of the elbe baseball team. movies and did state stuff and had a newspaper column. troy, theguest is ted author of "what jefferson read..." the numbers to call and are on your screen.

i want to ask you a little bit about, you talked about rating. are there any things that the president have read the shock to you? guest: i was surprised by how much presidents have read. teddy roosevelt, he was a huge reader. sometimes read 2-3 books per night. if you came to visit him, he would open a book and reading. at one point, he disappeared on a train. outside of the bathroom, trying to hold a book to the light. he wanted to catch those last rays of light. that was a good thing. that is what he did. i thought that was interesting. i was surprised that george h.w. bush was not a bigger reader. i was priced that ronald reagan was more of a reader than people thought. secretary came to him

one time and saw that he was reading a serious book and said can we put this out there? no, i do not think we need to do that. host: all right. our next call comes from bethlehem, pennsylvania. on the line for democrats. caller: i would like to mention howthey are talking about presidents alter the history. organizations like fox news are always showing ronald reagan saying tear down the wall. that statement was made one year after the election. wall came down in 1990, when mr. bush was president. look it up. today -- that did not happen. this is what happens all the time. altering the fact. they give very much. guest: i do not think that is an

alteration of fact. he did say tear down this wall. under his successor, the wall did come down. they do not think there is any implication that that should make -- that said, iconic images are very important. berline the images in where john f. kennedy said -- some thought it may have meant a jelly donut. people knew what he meant. i was i stand with berlin. people who are skillful with this, they make images that appear powerful and strong. reagan and kennedy were good at that. host: let's get a question from twitter. do you think that a president shapes pop-culture or does pop-culture shaper president? guest: great question.

there is a line that says when you are president, you are tv. you show up on the green. like the story about clinton. everything they see on the screen is a result of what president clinton was going through. images inee certain shows like the west wing. producers consciously say that they are trying to combine kennedy and clinton and take away the foibles and shenanigans. they make what they saw as the perfect democratic leader. that was a case where the president shapes culture. also, we see that many presidents are influenced by the culture. president obama, i talked about how much tv he watched. bill clinton talks about how he got his first tv in 1956. one of the first things he watched was the democratic convention. he saw stevenson, modestly

, theting the second term second straight nomination as president. he lost both times. he seems reluctant. clinton writes in his memoirs that he understands how someone could be reluctant to take on the nomination to be president. here is a guy who is shaped early by watching a politician on tv. host: technology and pop culture have also affected. how do you think the role will be different? guest: it is a good question. you say that pop-culture revolves quickly. think about the first hundred years. there was not much change. by the time roosevelt was president, there were only two options. you start to see the beginnings of radio, they were not first broadcasting film.

it developed slowly until it developed quickly. now what is happening so fast that i recently saw an article about rand paul getting on snap chat. people never anticipated that facebook would be big in 2008 or that twitter would be big in 2012. people do not know what the technology will be in 2016. i do not know if snap chat will be the new technology. what we do know is that presidents and candidates deal with various media and the shape how they are perceived. hopefully snap chat is not the new technology. talk us briefly through how you came about this book. it is really in doubt with a lot of great information. said, i told the story in my training -- i have a whole collection of presidential biographies in my home. that is where i started. looking at the biographies and trying to get an idea of their

interest. i quickly realized that the way to do this was to break it down by media. i started with the founders. there is a lot of material. theater, which was the medium of the 19th century. presidents would go from area to area and it would appear to be on good will. see and be seen. there was a lot of good material out there. there is archival stuff it i have stuff from presidential biographies and libraries. so, i just found a ton of research and put it together. it took over a year. it was a rewarding process. host: we have enjoyed this segment with ted troy. thank you for being with us tonight. guest: thank you for having me. happy presidents' day. host: we will take a break. when we come back, we are joined by a professor and expert on

first ladies. robert watson. later, a guest from the university of oklahoma will join us. first, an update from c-span radio. >> on this presidents' day, the hill reports that president obama is deeply disappointed that uganda's government will enact a bill criminalizing, sexuality. the president said he will sign this bill and calls for life imprisonment of people accused of homosexuality. written statement, president obama says that the anti-homosexuality bill in uganda, once law, will be more than an affront and a danger to a step community, but backwards for all ugandans and reflect poorly on their commitment to protecting the human rights of its people. it also will mark a serious setback for all those around the world who share a commitment to freedom, justice, and equal rights.

finally, president obama said said enactment of the law will complicate the u.s. relationship with that country. an update on a situation in syria chris john earlier today accused syrian president assad of stonewalling peace talks. push itson russia to ally to negotiate with opposition leaders. he made the remarks during a press conference in jakarta with indonesia's foreign minister. and from iran, the top four and later says he is not optimistic about nuclear talks with world powers. today, he says that some officials in current and previous administrations think that the negotiations can settle the issue. he does not share that optimism. those are some of the latest headlines. tonight, we conclude our series on first ladies.

there will be a live two-hour program. martha washington to michelle obama. >> she linked financial resources to the marriage, as well as managerial skills. makes mt. vernon a successful operation and makes it possible for washington to be away for eight years fighting a war. >> there were something about abraham lincoln, she saw the potential and encouraged it. helped to develop it. lessons in etiquette and the dining room that helps to polish them up. the political parties that they had, they invited important people. theparties talking with wives of those important gentlemen. she wielded a lot of power, over mr. lincoln and where he was going. >> the involvement of mrs. roosevelt in the career of franklin roosevelt is right from the beginning. she becomes much more active in her role after 1921. franklin roosevelt developed polio. she would encourage franklin

roosevelt to continue with his political ambitions. >> first lady's influence and image, from martha washington to michelle obama. tonight at 9:00, live on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. we will start the evening with a conversation with richard smith about the first ladies and their contribution to the nation. live at 8:00. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are joined now by robert watson. he is the author of "the president's wives. ." thank you for joining us this morning. guest: my pleasure. about the roles that the first lady plays in the presidency. the first lady plays a very important role. first off, the presidents have all been married. all that one. james buchanan surf right before

the civil war. bachelor.ifelong most have had a wife with them in the white house. a few were widowers. most first ladies have been very assertive and active. i think it covers the broad gamut. for example, in recent years, we take public opinion polls. we have seen that most first ladies enjoy higher approval ratings than their husbands. they often times help with the image factor. they help to present the president as the ideal american father, husband, the sort of patriarch of the country. it helps with image. on the other hand, there are more difficult areas. and of these presidents first ladies have been married for years, if not decades, before they enter the presidency or the white house. very few presidential aides can say that they knew the president. well before he even got into his

political career. the first ladies have served as a sounding board, confidant, a counselor, and i interviewed betty ford wants. she talked about this role. i asked her about jerry ford's counselor. regrets that she her president did not appoint more women to the bench. she said i regret not lobbying him harder. like ase, this is grandmother giving you the birds and bees talk. i did not know what to say. i thought it was cute. it goes to this notion of influence. lastirst lady is the person the presidencies before he goes to bed at night and the first person he sees in the morning. let's hope so. with the marriage comes an intimate role that transcends that of the chief of staff or the president's most senior

aides and advisers. there is a broad spectrum of roles that we expect. host: how is that role evolving over the years? we say it is the modern era of the presidency. guest: good. -- first lady is not always it is an extraconstitutional office. the constitution does not mention the first lady. article two talks about the president, but not the first lady. the framers did not contemplate a role for the first lady. there is not a statutory authority. she does not have a particular profile or set of roles. what has happened is that the first ladyship has evolved. through precedents and the action of some of the previous first ladies. if you look at the older ones, there were three in particular that helped to shape a set of full sun duties for the first lady.

even going into the modern times. that is martha washington, a public figure. people called her lady washington. the soldiers left her. there was a military unit named in her honor. lady washington's dragon. she was once in philadelphia and her carriage had to stop off because of the crowds. the onlookers came out to see her. she was quite surprised. she even said in one of her letters that it is as if i was a great somebody. she waved in formally and said some words. i was probably the first time she gave a speech. martha washington was a public figure. she would get the 21 gun salute. she was also a hostess. she hosted weekly get-togethers and functions to represent her husband and the country. that role has stayed with the first lady ever since. i think that also comes with a

history of sexism or sexual norms. it was felt that the wife was responsible for the message of hosting and all things in washington or all things in the white house. abigail adams was the second first lady. she was an associate president and political partner to her husband. john adams trusted his wife's advice. unhappily for them, fortunately for us, they spent a lot of time apart. they wrote a lot of letters. this letter survived. correspondencely is rich with detail. john adams thought her counsel on all things. one of the problems with members of congress is that they might've said this or that, but then he would say, what do you think? he took her advice. she was going to give her demise. she was a well read and gifted woman. we have seen since then this partnership kind of role. she is a policy advisor or counselor.

then we bring in dolly madison, james madison's wife. the fourth president. she was the third first lady. thomas jefferson, his wife had passed away 19 years before his presidency. they madison or merges as great hostess in the history of the country. had a wide arrange of activities and roles. she helped thomas jefferson during his roles. since his wife is deceased, she helps to host for him. she hosted or her husbands to terms. james monroe, his wife suffered from poor health. dolly madison hosted for him. she was a great hostess. a political powerhouse. a public figure. i think we have seen these roles and responsibilities of the first lady -- in recent times, first ladies have been expected to appear on the cover of magazines. grant interviews and conduct

what some people call pet projects. i see it as social activism. everything from barbara bush advocating family literacy to lady bird johnson advocating beautification. or what we would call conservation. cutt ladies have had projects and social advocacy issues that they have championed. of everye the cover magazine. they are in front of the media and they travel around the country. we have seen the expansion of the social advocacy and this project role. is robertguest watson, the author of "the presidents'wives." join ouruld like to conversation, the numbers are on your screen.

i want to ask you technically about the office of the first lady. how much staff is there and what the budget is like? guest: good. the first lady that hired someone was john tyler second wife, julia, back in the 1840's. she was very young. one of the youngest in the history. she was only 24 when she married the widowed president. she was very elegant and popular. she was a hostess in the mold of dolly madison. her events were so well attended that she hired a journalist to come in and help her write catchy lines, something that she could say in a toast or a greeting. that was the first informal higher. the first first lady it really had a staffer with teddy roosevelt's wife. edith. shortly after coming into office

in 1901, she was so popular and teddy roosevelt was so popular. a charismatic person. the press could not get enough. mrs. roosevelt founders also inundated with letters and requests that she simply could not get to them in a full day. they've reassigned a clerk from the war department by the name james, onhagner salary, and reassigned her to work for the first lady. that was the first staffer to work for the first lady. --t we see in terms of staff the advent was really under jackie kennedy. jackie kennedy decided early on that she was going to restore or renovate the white house. she did a magnificent job. it was a historic renovation. iturning the white house to historic western grandeur circa

1820, the monroe years. the wonderful federalist decor that we see today. roughly 40edy had people at anyone one time working with her or for her. art historians, architects, a variety of scholars to help restore and renovate the white house. since jackie kennedy's time, what we have seen is that first ladies have had between 12 -- that was barbara bush, on the low-end -- to betty ford had about 24. all first ladies have been between 12 and 24 since then. or 17.ush had 16 hillary clinton around 19. michelle obama, maybe 22. they have been in that range. the consistent since then. they have offices or staff -- like a chief of deputy chief of staff, to help with scheduling. a press secretary, a speechwriter.

betty ford, in the 1970's, was the first to create a role of project director. first ladies have all had that to help them with their special projects. hired a carter even management consultant to help her with the structure and make efficient effects of structure for the first lady ship. benefits --dy also all first of -- all of her staff is associated -- her folks will coordinate with the president's staff. her chief of staff will coordinate with the president's chief of staff. the budget authority comes to the president's chief of staff. they are rather tightlipped about how much money they spend on the first lady's staff. no one wants a story saying how much money is spent on the first lady. that would seem to appear to be frivolous.

the irony is there is a catch 22. criticized as is she is to active and she is criticized and she is not active enough. we expect her to appear everywhere and assist the president and promote projects. for that, one needs a staff. we have seen that in the east wing offices of the first lady ever since jackie kennedy. host: in rhode island, jim is on the line for democrats. caller: hello, how are you doing? enjoying the program. i have a scenario that we all know, which may play out in 2016. suppose hillary clinton runs and get selected. how will the role change of being married to the president and you are a former president and would mr. clinton, bill clinton, president clinton, have to take less of a role because of his history? your thoughts? guest: that is a great question.

women have been elected all around the world. our closest allies, like england and israel and canada, have all had women at the helm. all over the world, europe has had multiple women. women have been running for the presidency in this country cents the 1800s. 1872, victoria woodhall. more recent years, elizabeth dole, sarah palin, geraldine gferraro were right presidential nominees. part of this book is president.ng madame it is not a matter of if, it is when. at some point, we will elect a woman who is married. we have not thought what the title would be for the husband. thed he be the first gent? first guy? sarah palin joked about the

first dude. we are not sure about the title. but we can be sure, because of sexual norms, the husband is not asked to do all of the things that are first lady is asked to do. a first lady is expected to accurate white house. she is a white house manager. this is the people's house. it is a spectacular museum. rests with the first lady to make sure it stays that way. i do not think the first man would be responsible for that. the first lady is expected to greet heads of state and help the president with that custom. i do think the first gentleman would be expected to do that. we could see him doing that. i do not see bill clinton are doing -- or any first husband serving scones. think because of sexual norms that we would expect him to do that. we have even seen an ivy league educated lawyer, like hillary

clinton, or an ivy league educated lawyer like michelle obama serving cookies. first man to a participate in social projects. he would play a role in the easter egg roll. he would probably help welcome guests to the white house. the other thing we can be sure of, if you look around the world, women have served as head of government. we have had governors in this country. the husband has not had to do a lot. we have also allowed the husband to have his own job or career. first ladies have not had a career while serving as first lady. elizabeth dole, when she briefly ,an for president in 1999-2000 bob dole is a longtime senator and republican nominee -- elizabeth dole said that in respect to what her first

ladyship would look like, she said she suspected she would continue working. this is a former two-time cabinet officer. she served as secretary of transportation and other roles. she said she would continue working. i remember several folks in the media had a big fit. a big over that. i think that the first man would be able to go out and play golf much of the day. i think he would not be able to keep his job, but he would play some role. in the white house is it is such an enormous response ability. we have seen the way that presidents have aged and the stress on the wife and the first kids. as bill clinton said in 1992, speaking of hillary, you buy one, you get one free. two for the price of one. we have been doing that since george and martha. in new york city when the country was founded. i think there would be a role for the first man, but clearly

it would change. it is highly gendered. there are feminine parameters for the first lady. referencea bush made to the idea of the first man when she was asked about the role of the first lady. let listen to what she had to say. then i went to get your take. [video clip] >> there are plenty of perks. believe me. a chef, i was really great. i miss the chef. i do not think that. the interesting question is not should they receive a salary, but should they be able to work for a salary at their job erie it that they might have artie had. i think that is what we will have to come to terms with. certainly, for a first gentleman, they might continue to work at whatever he'd said. if he was a lawyer or whatever. that is the question.

duringshe have a career those years that her husband is president? in addition to serving as first lady. host: your take, robert watson? guest: i had a wonderful opportunity last spring at a gala for the presidential museum that was hosted by laura and barbara bush. i had a chance to participate in that and speak out it. she was saying the same sort of thing then. she raises a great issue. we have a conflict of interest concern. spouse if a president's is working for a defense contractor. the contractor would have been on a contract that provides the military with tanks. they were to get that contract. there's always conflict of interest concerns. they do have to be taken into account, in the case of a spouse of the president, man or woman, continuing to work. i do not think that we will get to the point where we will pay

the president's spouse for what they do. i say this the most difficult unpaid job in the world. and appointed,, unpaid, but they are expected to have a job. i do not think we will get to that extent. there are a few legal parameters. one was called the bobby kennedy role. his younger hired brother, bobby, to serve as his attorney general. some lawsuit and concern about the parameters of nepotism and hiring a direct family member. wase was a lawsuit that brought by physicians who were opposed to health care reform under bill clinton and hillary clinton in 1993 when clinton was pushing health care reform. hillary clinton was nominally be cochair of that task force. people said that she was, as a first lady, this was a conflict of interest and she should not be in such a role. the court supported mrs.

clinton, and i think rightly so. they recognized the long history of service from first lady to our asked to sacrifice greatly to live in what is basically a public fishbowl. the whole world watches your every move in the white house. they have done this sort of thing. that it is not if, but when we will have a female and a working age has been. we will have to cross that threshold limit get there. i suspect he will be allowed to job. i suspect he will be concerned about potential conflict of interest. that could blow up on the president. primary know for our viewers. tonight is the wrapup of the first lady's series. as at 9:00 eastern. if you have missed out or want to take a look at that, you could see the whole series on our website at firs tladies.cspan.org.

let's take a call now from arkansas. mike is on the line for independents. caller: thank you. i drive ea pension. i think that the wealthier people in this country are out of ted. let me tell you why. i live in a rural area. my neighbors are elderly people. they are trying to raise a garden and they are unable to do it. they are too old. they are on food stamps. they are on medicare and medicaid. these people are starting. president'slect any family. we elected the president. the family should have no political aspiration. to dore not appointed anything other than be the wife of the president. why should we pay?

for her to hire a staff -- we have people that are starving. touch- we are so out of with the american people. it saddens me. it makes me disgusted. i thought for my country. i am -- i'm sorry. i'm sorry that i went over there. this is not the country that iphone 4. i did not fight for people to drop dead like they are now. guest: first off, thank you for your service. we should congratulate and recognize veterans who served. many presidents or veterans. recently, george h to leave a was a naval aviator in world war ii. many presidents have served this country. harry truman was a veteran. first families, many of them

have recognized and remembered veterans. the current first lady, michelle obama, one of her projects is beenating -- she has tireless in her advocacy for military families. making sure the military housing is improved. better body armor for soldiers in afghanistan. support for military families. george h w bush, when he was president, ran the department of veterans affairs. you see all the way back to martha washington, when veterans would come to the white house. this was before social security and medicare. before food stamp programs. these programs would make sure that there is a social safety net and that individuals in this country do not slip through the cracks. of course, there are cases of strife in arkansas and elsewhere, where folks do -- we can always do a better job. we need to do a better job. a lot of times, it is coordination at the local level

where it is not getting through. the federal government is funding these programs. it is where the rubber meets the road. veterans would come to george washington -- the great general. martha would give them money. she hated to see a veteran who have lost a limb and had no means for supporting his family. as they said, the day an age before social services. martha washington personally give the money. struggledlincoln right alongside her husband with the pain of the civil war. losing thousands and thousands of men in the north and south. mary todd lincoln would take donations and provide them to soldiers. she would organize donations for former slaves and runaways then moved to washington and were living an abysmal conditions. before there was public housing and things like that. i am sympathetic to your concern. i have always been an ardent advocate of veterans affair.

medicare, social security programs. childhood vaccinations and things that make sure that all americans have a decent quality of life. , i do not know if the words help or not, but i can assure you that we have multiple first lady's who have been champions. roosevelt, as much as anyone, visited soldiers in combat zones. independent of her husband, who is wheelchair-bound and unable to travel. she was the eyes and ears. she visited soldiers and hospitals. she took great concern. at great personal attention to this issue. host: now to providence, rhode island. jaclyn on the line for democrats. caller: hi. extent with certain the gentleman from arkansas. my heart goes out to him. i worked on wall street for over 30 years. i know this to be so.

unfortunately, it does not matter who gets in the white house. either republican or democrat. i worked for these people as a wealthy -- iized, am financially well, international financial elite that is immensely wealthy. they pretty much call the shots. a lot of people do not realize that the previous democratic administration -- a lot of the money, most of it actually, went to the democratic body. i am a democrat. i think one third of it went to the republican party. it was two thirds, one third. i could be wrong. it went to these two parties. example, hillary clinton, she is very close to wall street. though clinton is very close to

wall street. i do not think he will be the nominee. -- he is closeie to wall street. someone like brian schweitzer would be a good man. he is very bright. not that connected to wall street. you never know. the influence could jump on him to. have a nice day. guest: i like brian schweitzer. a former governor of montana. a real advocate for the common man. an accomplished individual. a rugged individualism. qued of a reagan-es personality. strong individual. on the one hand, i would agree. all presidents do have connected interests. i do not want to sound flippant. we know how powerful these moneyed interest are. they have support for wall street that benefits them more than the average american.

in a way, they need to have connections to wall street. we need to make sure the stock market is strong and a business hires. we need to support american businesses and exports. when they cross the line and become -- that is another problem. guest: i would strongly disagree , i spent 25 years researching and writing about american presidents and american history, if you take somebody like harry truman, there was strong advocacy for veterans and integrating the armed forces in 1948. he supported african-american enjoyrs who could not quality uniforms despite their contributions world war ii. japaneseted the

soldiers even though we had japanese internment during the war. who aremerican soldiers captured by the knots is it they might not enjoy the same support. into graded the military. he fought for jewish emigration. this is extraordinary. out of the anybody would agree or suggest that they would've done all that. fdr's leadership during the second world war and the great depression is extraordinary. not know if another person would've cut taxes to the extent of ronald reagan or restored america's image around the world. presidents of both parties have mattered one way or the other. i don't think anybody would defend a war in harding's presidency, which was disastrous. it does matter who is office. ae first lady does not have

formal authority. she cannot introduce a bill in congress. what we do see is whether you are the wife of a general or a ceo or a mayor or the husband of any one of those, your spouse is going to consult to. i do not make an important decision without talking to my wife and asking for her feedback. we all do this. there is an informal influence the comes. it is impossible to guess or suspect or to require that a first lady not exercise that influence. outpublic wants her to be reading to school kids and advocating on behalf of veterans and helping with nutrition and diet for america's children. we want her to do this. she does need a staff. i want to see the staff any

larger than it is. i think the taxpayers don't want that either. i think it is about right where it is right now. host: i want to ask about what is going on in france. the role ofonder if the first lady is passe. the french are having trouble dividing with the status of the what lady should be. implications do you think this situation has for the united states and how we view first ladies. french leader was just here. his extramarital dalliances have taken precedence or for -- over relations with france. what you do see is around the countries-- most

around the world don't have a prominent role for a first lady or a fixed relation -- fixation on the first lady. so many media outlets, i don't know if it is because there was a model who could serve as head of state. head of stateed and head of government into one office. the president and first lady do everything from turning on the lights of the christmas tree at the holidays to roll easter eggs on the holiday and welcome heads of state. we do have more of a fixation on it in this country. aspect of gendered the office will be minimized. of marital infidelity in the office and high-profile scandals has a long history here.

fathered aeland child out of wedlock. we all know about john kennedy and lyndon johnson. of historylong list in both parties with this. there is a long history of first lady scandals. mary todd lincoln was scandalous. she was shopping like a milder marcos. she bought an expensive china service and liked it so much she got up companion set. president lincoln cutter off financially. to asking the country sacrifice and your spending like there is no tomorrow. spending was a huge scandal. whoew jackson's wife rachel

was alive when he was elected but died right before the inauguration, she had been married to men -- two men at the same time. called sorts of negative words. nancy reagan had a lot of dresses from high-end designers while her husband is making drastic cuts in social programs. that was a minor scandal. been marital infidelities. it is a good thing we're having this conversation on a program .ike this are it is a highly public role and highly gendered role. i hope it changes with the times great. nicole in san antonio is

underlined for independents. you're talking about the significant personal influence of first spouses. we are talking about the possibility of bill clinton being a first spouse. conceptis violate our of term limits in spirit if not in actual fact. can you comment on your understanding of first spouses. what is your take on the influence of first spouses on presidential decision-making? another good question. presidency truman's ended, all presidents have been

limited to two terms. that means a president cannot accept a vice presidential position and then succeed to the presidency. you cannot serve -- you can serve nonconsecutive terms. grover cleveland was our 22nd president and was our 24th president. he raised a big point. hillary clinton had influence as first lady. now if she is the president, bill clinton will have that kind of access. it does not violate the faith and wording of the 22nd amendment. the ultimate judge of these things is the american electorate. they would have the ability to vote against her. if people like him and what his maybe they have the

right to vote for him. first ladies have been enormously influential over history. eleanor roosevelt as i said was her husband's eyes and ears. rosalynn carter and betty ford lobbied congress. i have written three books on the first ladies and a number on the presidents. the reason i wrote my first book of the first ladies is because of president polk's wife. they were pretty underwhelming group of presidents. holt was a pretty good president. he only served one term. his wife was amazing. i wrote a book about first ladies because of her. 100was in eleanor roosevelt

years before there was eleanor roosevelt. she was unpopular because of her influence. the country was not ready for such a strong woman at the time. she did not have children of her own. women were judged as a wife or mother. it allowed her to make politics her vocation in advocation. she sat in congress in the audience and watched sessions of congress. there are speeches where mrs. polk's handwriting is in the margin. she clipped newspaper articles for him to read. she is a master of herself and we expect that of someone else to.

there is a cute line i found an old diary were someone said they went to the white house and were meeting with the dignitaries and the best political conversation polk. was with mrs. he could -- madison could be defeated if it were not for dolly. first ladies of had that kind of influence. it is naive to think they wouldn't have any informal influence. they don't have any formal role or formal duty beyond what any citizen would have. they cannot pass executive orders were introduced laws. host: we'll have one more call. joe from west chester, pennsylvania. caller: good morning.

, i waswant to call forced to call after the job from arkansas called. iwanted to say that appreciated the way you handle that call. i just wished i had a history professor as enjoyable as you are this morning. i think i would've retained a lot more history. that is all i have to say. guest: thank you him a joe. at washingtonou journal that joe is not my brother. we need to remember that these veterans have served our country in many ways and sacrificed and continue to sacrifice. their families continue to sacrifice every single day in thatng with stress with

service. it is criminal that we do not fulfill its obligation to provide the support we need for veterans. who hass know a veteran struggled and needs that kind of support. havingeased to see that studied the presidents and first andes, many presidents first ladies have been strong champions of our men and women in uniform. we have been joined by robert watson. the author of the presidents wives. we're going to take up quick break him a we'll be joined by patrick merrick. we will talk about the history of local advertising. a.m. is 9:13

many lawmakers and journalists are weighing in on this anniversary. people wonder where the money went. marco rubio has released a video message. he says if you recall five years ago the notion was that if the government spent this money that somehow the economy would begin to grow and create jobs. it clearly failed. john boehner tweets that after five years of stimulus, americans are still asking where are the jobs? obamaears ago president signed the american recovery act. at the time, the u.s. economy was losing 800,000 jobs a month. in the fourth quarter of 2008, it had contracted an eight percent annual rate, a

depression level freefall. the white house will repeat release -- release a report the stimulus helped. the main conclusion of the actrt is the recovery increased gdp by two and a half percentage points. it kept us out of a double-dip recession. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> what i want to see is the internet remain free and accessible and open, no blocking or discrimination. that is my overall goal. that is what has made it what it is. great thingsf the of the united states of america.

we invented this. this is our genius. this is our ingenuity. i wanted to continue and prosper the way it is. i don't believe this is a democratic or republican position. they don't see it my way. i think this is all about the consumer. are oress of who you where you live in the country or what your color is or what you do or your economic background, it is all neutral when it comes to the internet. >> net neutrality and other issues facing congress, tonight on the communicators. >> washington journal continues. host: our guest is patrick

merrick. he is correct or of the local communication center at oklahoma university. tell us about the political to medication center and what kind of archives you have. have political advertising going back to the 1930's and 1920's. we have video going back to the 1950's. we have it in many different media. half-inchery sense of or three-quarter inch. we have some on film and reel to reel. we have lots of different media. we have been collecting these at the university since 1988.

the namesake of the archive began collecting in the 1950's. he was working at a tv station in illinois. host: how can a person access these archives? guest: the first thing they could do is come in person. we would be happy to have you. come see us in norman, oklahoma. we have plenty of viewing capacity on-site. where youve a website can see what we have to offer. we have a database available so you can search what we have and see if there is some material that would be of interest to you. if you're not able to come to you could let us know

what you would like to get and we can send it to you on loan on dvd. host: are there any challenges for you guys when it comes to preserving these archives? guest: absolutely. the major concern is with the material that is on film that is needs to be kept in cold storage. it is never going to be better than it is right now. we've been doing our best to keep the material preserved in a digital form and keep that digital form state-of-the-art. .e have had grants in the past the problem is that these materials, they are never going to be better than they are right

now. they will continue to deteriorate. we can slow the deterioration, but that is the major concern. to other issue is continuing acquire materials. , we have dones our best to be more proactive as campaigns go online. we will down line materials and archive them digitally. we always depend on the kindness of strangers. be it advertising -- we have advertising sent to us. we have a hard drive sent to us from the obama campaign after the 2012 election. our guest is from the university of oklahoma. he is the director of the

political communications center. if you want to join us this morning, the republican line is from what you have seen, what is changed. what are the big changes or trends? when political with the 1952gan, campaign when the eisenhower commercials,a 32nd they treated it like it was product advertising. they did jingles. they sold it as if it was soap.

, held reagan have a line understood how that worked. when his campaign came to meet him, he said i am a bar of soap. i think it is safe to say that the issues have become more of a concern in advertising. and have always been there. even the eisenhower campaign had ads about inflation and ads peace and relations with other countries. we have become sharper over time. there's is been more of a clarifying and .ttacking the opponent's record

in the most recent campaign, we saw about 75% of advertising between romney and obama that were negative ads. they were negative ads from the beginning. there is a preponderance of it now. that is especially true with the amount of independent spending shat we have through super pac and 527's. at an ad fromlook 1952. [video clip] now is the time for all good

americans to come to the aid of their country. host: tell us what we just saw. guest: that was one of those jingle type ads. it was complete with harmony and animation. we saw a similar ad in 1960 from john f. kennedy.

completely issue free. it was a slogan ad. ike was popular in 1952. hero, his role as the supreme commander of allied forces. get broad popularity. he was the most admired american in 1952. he did not have to really talk about issues. let us take it -- host: listen to call. caller: i will try to be brief. i think each party should get the same amount of money. i don't think anybody should be able to donate anything.

you have a lot of foreign countries that are influencing our politics. you have money coming from foreign countries like saudi arabia and israel. we end up serving their interests. this would give independence a better shake in the elections. is rosst independent perot. -- during the debate with george bush and bill he told everything about free trade. he said exactly what was going to happen and it has come to pass. he was a great independent. i voted for him. i wish you would invite him on the show. government.ing our

as you see, you foreign countries -- america is being sold out. everything is all about foreign countries. our oilven selling rights to foreign countries. bp is a foreign country. ground that is in the belongs to the americans. we are sending so much of this to foreign countries. your thoughts? guest: first about foreign fund-raising, i don't believe that is allowed. givingas the idea of funding, sincel thateforms of the 1970's, is how it has been.

the democrat and republican both get a certain amount. in the last election it was about $84 million. obama proved to be a fundraising juggernaut. he decided to forgo the public funding. he relied on his own fund-raising initiative. he declined public funding. , thereas independents go is not a mechanism by which a third-party candidate could get that matching funding. i would have to check if there is a criterion that you have to reach in order to get that public funding.

the recent ross perot was able to mount the campaign that he did was because he was independently wealthy. he spent $60 million of his own dollars. was leading in the polls. he backed out of the campaign temporarily and then came back in. by then he had lost some momentum. i do believe that the caller has a point about the extent to which independence or third-party candidates have access to the structure of a presidential campaign. getting access to debates, you have to demonstrate that you have 15% support in several

polls. ross perot met that threshold in 1992. a disagreement over whether he should get an invite in 1996. no candidate has met that threshold cents. host: we have a caller from fort lauderdale tom of florida. congress men are begging for money. they're not doing the business of the country. i think it is time for the candidates debate until the tongs swell up on public tv, on c-span and networks.

they would love to have them on msnbc or even fox. cracy.e a donor-o it is for the big donors. host: patrick, your take? guest: she has a point. she is right about the amount of spendhat congress people on fundraising. when you have a two-year term, you are in a perpetual campaign. you're always raising money for the next campaign. as the question of how obligated they are to their donors, that is a question that many people think -- take very seriously. said, the amount of money

that one person can give to a campaign is relatively limited. , it was $2000. there are some campaigns, obamas is one, where the majority of were small. he had millions of contributors to his campaign. i think that to the extent that you can get a lot of little donors, you are getting closer to being beholden to the people fatcats.n to a few stilln mind, there are

big money operations. they can donate money to the campaign, they can expend in some cases unlimited amounts of money on your campaign hospital -- on yourd campaigns behalf. these can get organizations spending on your behalf, you are in much better shape as a candidate. you probably are beholden to their agenda. -- now let us go to one of the more famous ads. five,two, three, four,

six, eight, nine, eight, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero. >> these are the stakes. to make a world in which all of god's children can live. we missed either love each other or we must die. onvote for president johnson november 3. the stakes are too high for you to stay home. that and only aired once, ?ight russian ma

aired in the free media, the news. ad.rage about the it was very country versatile and shocking to have a nuclear detonation shown in a political ad. suggest thatng to voting for goldwater would cause stuff to blow up. the rationale behind that was that johnson's campaign talked about how goldwater wanted to do away with a nuclear test ban

treaty. he talked about a winnable nuclear war. there was an effort on the johnson campaign to portray goldwater as irresponsible and extreme. wanted to portray him as a reckless warmonger. to some extent, that stuck. host: let us go to michael. he is on a republican line. this is an excellent subject. i've been dying to ask two questions. before i getreface into the questions. hannity,advent of , those radiobaugh

to,onalities that i listen if there is a presidential a radio station will give you a five minute rush youaugh update which gives anti-obama. thes always anti-whatever democratic president is. with that stated, i have two .uestions what made everything change? was there something ronald reagan did where it changed the landscape to have these kind of things out there? the second question is would you consider this the modern-day way

of the republican party advertising? there i would say that was something happened during reagan's administration. in 1987 a rule known as the fairness doctrine that it years wasor about 45 overturned by federal courts. the fairness doctrine had broadcasthat television and radio stations maintain a balance of political views across their schedules. every program did not have to be balanced, but did require that both democrats and

republicans. talk radio has been dominated by republicans. i am not sure why that is. there have been attempts to get liberal radio hosts. was on the air for a few years and went bankrupt. operated in some limited respect now. as far as broadcast is concerned, defended the fairness doctrine is no longer in effect radio reason that we have stations that are dominant by conservative talk radio. cable is not affected their. cable can do what it wants.

is thatare seeing now we are getting some polarization. we have fox news that was attempting to deliver news that was presented as a counterweight to what conservatives considered to be liberal media. in recent years, msnbc has is aed that we think there market for a liberal news station. they are right. they have surpassed cnn's ratings now. it is fox first in the ratings and msnbc second. cnn is playing it down the middle and they are third. there are some business decisions going to do that as well.

audiences get smaller and smaller, you can cater to a niche audience. host: we have a caller from twitter. much a tvuest no how ad costs? the cost of an ad varies a lot. it depends on where you want to air it. , ifou are a local candidate you want to air an ad on local for under can do so $100. if you're a national political figure, if you want to run for president, you had better have millions of dollars saved up. barack obama's most recent campaign approached $1 billion.

the majority of most modern onpaigns, the money is spent airtime, buying airtime for your advertising. host: next up is ohio. jeff is online for independents. guest: hello. things.o say a few social media is affecting advertising. guest: that is a good question. allows that social media campaigns to not necessarily advertise, but it enables them to reach a very targeted audiences. to like ae decided messaging all of the

is going into your newsfeed. the fact that you have like this that now those who sell advertising on facebook know that if you like this conservative, maybe we can show you ads for this other conservative who is also running in your district. that it probably has most to do with targeting and reaching people. beings important because able to reach your intended audience will minimize any kind of backlash that you might get if you are reaching somebody who disagrees with you. you're showing them something that is intended for those who ready inclined to your

point of view. it is about targeting. that is where social media comes in. host: there is an article in , a newo last week services being offered by dish network and directv. be targetedw ads to at certain households. host: what are your thoughts there? guest: micro-targeting has been going on, but in a different medium. it is an primarily reserved for the realm of direct mail. the products that you

might be buying or magazines you they can target and send things to your mailbox if they think you are going to find appealing. the fact that we are going to advertising coming into your television, it is really fascinating. it is just a little bit creepy. host: the next call comes from ohio. rich is online for republicans. curious about businesses are considered citizens and have all the rights of citizens. u.s.u think about

businesses, why should china be considered citizens of the united states. they want things it could be detrimental to us. they have influence in the political system. i'll hang up and listen to your answer. as access to political speech, he is right. mitt romney said, corporations are people. especially with the citizens corporationson, can spend what they want and

, andrt of candidates support of support on certain issues. that is their prerogative. that's important -- that supreme court decision overturned about a century of regulation that restricted corporations and unions. up to that extent, we are seeing , i think people expect to the floodgates to open as far as corporate spending was concerned. cone --, ultimately corporations may be people, but they are people moan the -- .ainly concerned with profit

they would have to see a bottom-line effect for them in order to want to spend that kind of money. i don't know if they will see a return on that kind of investment. the question from twitter from karen. outweighads always positive messages was there a time when it was the opposite? we have seen a change. we see more tendencies toward negative ads. in the beginning of political advertising, most of the ads were slogan ads or positive issue ads that talked about the merits of the candidate who is sponsoring the ad. it talked about what a good person he or she was. it talked about their plans or

positions or strengths. there've always been negative political ads. there have always been negativity and political campaigns. i do believe that we are seen -- seeing more negativity. one of my predecessors at the university of oklahoma, the first director of the center, did a study in the 1980's. expectedhe people that 1988 was the most negative year of total advertising. she found it was 1964.

i mentioned a moment ago, the campaign, 75%ey of the ads that ran were negative. we have not seen that level of negativity before. scholar is an ohio. calling about some statements that were made during the last reelection of obama. the republicans were talking the united states is onding $97 billion the year low income people. i am one of those people. money.e

they were saying i was getting $10,000 a year. why they canstand lie about what is happening. make a raisen they disability, they can give themselves arrays. -- give themselves arrays. a raise.hemselves we are talking about lyrical ads today. guest: the ads do not make sense. there is a difference

between product advertising and political advertising. roddick advertising is regulated against false advertising. political advertising, there is not. the reason comes down to free to the idea that one person's truth is another person's fiction. this is true in politics. said, there has been a movement in the last 25 years or toward journalists and independent policing of facts and political advertising. the first newspaper to do what is known as an ad watch was the los angeles times in 1984. campaign, there

was a call for journalists to do a better job of policing and calling it to account false political advertisers. seen a birth of ad and local newspapers television markets. seen thently, we've growth of fact checking. doing the jobare of policing. they are checking the factual assertions made in political advertisements. go ahead. host: go ahead, i enter up to do. guest: i think it is safe to say

that most people are concerned mostly with negativity and false advertising. see a littlemes bit of bending of facts and positive ads as well. instance, if you are just an average candidate, you're going to make yourself out to be the staunchest republican or staunchest democrat that you can tobecause you are catering the electorate in the primary. times, we see republicans who are challenged from the right by tea party candidates. they need to appear as conservative as possible. then you moved to the general election and a don't want to be perceived as extreme anymore. now they are moderates.

it now they believe in getting things done and compromise. one way or the other, there is some fudging going on. even in the positive ads in which they try to pertain their image. -- portray their image. is an ad from 1984. let's take a look. >> it is morning again in america. today, more men and women will go to work than ever before. interest rates are half the record highs of 1980. italy 2000 families today will buy new homes. this afternoon, 6500 young men and women will be married. inflation is less than half of

what it was four years ago, we can look forward with confidence to the future. it is morning again in america. under the leadership of president reagan, our country is prouder and stronger and better. why would we want to return to where we were less than four short years ago? host: telescope we just saw. -- tell us what we just saw. guest: that was the centerpiece of that reagan mourning in america campaign. wanted to be not quite as

aggressive as the previous hard-sell campaign had been. this was a soft sell. the narrator had done a lot of product narration like country time lemonade. inwas conjuring a rockwell -- norman rockwell version of america. it was also forward-looking. we are back. but we don't want to go back where we were four years ago. i think the fact that the frommy had turned around the early years of 1981 in 1982 the administration found itself dealing with a recession, by 1984, things were looking

better. reagan was asking if you were better off. in 1980 we were dealing with double-digit inflation. we had double-digit unemployment. they felt confident in posing that question. that has been asked in some for another ever since. host: that is all we have for today. director of is the the political communications center at the university of oklahoma. thank you for being with us today. guest: my pleasure. host: join us tomorrow morning. we will discuss health care and small business. joined bywe will be the human rights campaign.

we'll be joined by the director of information technology from princeton university. we will see you at 7:00 a.m. eastern. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] congress is away on break this week for the presidents' day recess. members will return next week. president obama spent the last week in southern california at the sunny land estate, home of the late analysts -- he is the eighth president to vacation

at the home. the property includes a golf course and tennis court. the president hosted king abdulla from jordan. he will return to the white house this afternoon. day, celebrate presidents' we are continuing our question. who is your fraser president and why? thomas says george w. bush. the face of america's darkest hour, he stood tall and united us. he handled the most adverse situation and did it with it many, compassion, and an iron fist. franklin roosevelt for his charismatic leadership and tireless innovation when confronted with uncertainty. we have yet to see another like him since. we would like to hear your thoughts. go to facebook.com to comment. coming up here on c-span a couple of moments, remarks from ruth bader ginsburg and alito cake and on the court. --